Save Our Sites will advocate for the preservation of sites and structures within the City of Philadelphia deemed valuable. These sites include historic ones, though they may not always be certified or in historic districts. The modern, the vernacular and those properties not fitting into any particular category, will be the focus of Save Our Sites as well. Therefore, Save Our Site's mission goes beyond historic preservation in the narrow sense, with the intention of preserving Philadelphia as a highly livable, traditional city.

Save Our Sites, in addition to its focus on preservation, will advocate for new development that is appropriate to each site and that is compatible with its surroundings.

Save Our Sites will stress the link between preservation and sustainability.

Save Our Sites seeks to work with existing preservation organizations whenever possible,and welcomes reciprocity. SOS adheres to the Hippocratic Oath of Preservation formulated by Dr. Michael Tomlan, Director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at Cornell University who says: "If you can't be supportive, for gosh sakes shut up" (quoted in a NY Times article by Bradford McKee, "When Preservation Equals Demolition," March 31, 2005).

The organization will be loosely structured with its membership list, newsletter and email providing cohesion. There will be no board of directors, no officers; only a steering committe consisting of 12 members drawn from the general membership. One third of the committee will rotate off annually. Its meetings will be open to the general membership, providing complete transparency.

By virtue of its organizational nature, SOS will be able to swiftly respond to preservation crises. Available funding will be spent in support of volunteer efforts rather than paying a full time staff.

Future SOS newsletters will announce a number of events and fundraisers. Among these are a spring bike tour of endangered sites, an annual walking tour with award-winning journalist Thom Nickels, author of Philadelphia Architecture, and several tastings featuring wines produced and bottled exclusively for Save Our Sites by the Philadelphia Wine Company.

SOS is now at work on preliminary list of endangered sites and buildings throughout Philadelphia. SOS will also facilitate Philadelphians wanting to support preservation efforts in their former hometowns. Detroit, Baltimore and Louisville Committees are already in the works.